PJ Fuller II and Jackson Grant are leaving the Washington men’s basketball team.
According to 247sports.com, Fuller intends to enter the transfer portal following a season in which the senior guard lost his starting job and missed the final four games due to unspecified reasons.
“It’s a personal matter,” coach Mike Hopkins said last week. “Certainly, wished we could have had him, but respecting his privacy.”
Two years ago, Fuller, who played at Nathan Hale and Garfield High, was hailed as a returning hometown hero after transferring from TCU and comprising a quartet of local stars, including Terrell Brown Jr., Emmitt Matthews and Daejon Davis, that revitalized a slumping UW team.
As a junior, Fuller averaged 7.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists while starting seven of 32 games.
Fuller started the first 14 games this season while scoring in double figures six times and tallying at least two steals in five contests.
However, Hopkins replaced him with freshman guard Keyon Menifield and Fuller’s production tailed off dramatically. He was second on the team with 64 assists, but his scoring dipped to 6.2 points per game and his turnovers rose to 2.6 per contest while starting 17 of 26 games.
“Just looking for a little more consistency,” Hopkins said in January when asked about the change in the lineup. “(Fuller) helps us defensively and his experience is invaluable … that ball-handling piece and assist-to-turnovers ratio is where we have to improve.”
Fuller committed at least two turnovers in 18 games and ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in turnovers per game.
Meanwhile, Grant never reached the lofty expectations that preceded him to Washington and after two seasons with the Huskies, the former McDonald’s All-American is leaving UW.
“I have made the difficult decision to enter the transfer portal and explore other options for my basketball career,” Jackson tweeted Wednesday afternoon. “This decision was not an easy one but after careful consideration, I believe it is the best decision for me and my future. I will always cherish the memories I made here at Washington, and I am proud to have represented Seattle basketball.”
Jackson, a 6-foot-10 and 205-pound sophomore forward, totaled 34 points and 58 rebounds in 39 games as a backup, which led to criticism among UW fans about the lack of production from the former four-star prospect.
As a senior at Olympia High, Grant averaged 22.9 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while the Bears to a 14-2 record. He was named the 2020-21 Gatorade Washington Boys Basketball Player of the Year and ranked as the third best recruit in the state by ESPN behind Paolo Banchero and Nolan Hickman, who signed with Duke and Gonzaga respectively.
Jackson was also ranked 44th nationally on ESPN’s top 100 list and became the ninth McDonald’s All-American to sign with the Huskies joining a list that includes: Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart (2019), Quade Green (2017), Markelle Fultz (2016), Nigel Williams-Goss (2013), Abdul Gaddy (2009), Spencer Hawes (2006) and Jon Brockman (2005).
However, Jackson struggled as a freshman while averaging 1.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 6.5 minutes in 25 games. His first collegiate season was partly undermined by COVID-19 when he became ill and lost 10-15 pounds, Hopkins said at the time.
After playing sparingly as a freshman, Grant had hoped to sit out this season and redshirt before center Franck Kepnang suffered a season-ending injury Dec. 1.
Grant made his season debut Dec. 4 and was never able to make much of an impact on the floor. He converted 2 of 15 field, including 0 for 5 on three-pointers and was 3 of 8 on free throws.
Defensively, Grant had difficulty against bigger post players and averaged just 1.5 rebounds.
“In fairness to Jackson, he was redshirting,” Hopkins said. “That’s just what it was. Jackson needed a year to develop. Jackson is one of those guys that’s really hard on himself. He’s got a lot of talent, but he’s really hard on himself. We wanted that for him. We wanted a year of no pressure. Get your body better. Go against Franck and Braxton (Meah) every day in practice. Work on his shot. Have that year to really develop.
“When Franck went down, he made a selfless decision to do whatever he could to help the team. Has we played as well as he’s wanted to? No. Has he played as well as we wanted? No. But he’s a heckuva player that’s just trying to find his way. Everybody has a different path. It’s been a little up and down for Jackson, especially this year.”
Since Washington’s season-ending loss in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, Fuller and Grant joined Langston Wilson who entered the transfer portal.
Meah announced via Twitter that he’s returning to Washington while Cole Bajema and Kepnang have told UW coaches they plan to come back.
That leaves six Huskies (Menifield, Keion Brooks Jr., Koren Johnson, Tyler Linhardt, Noah Williams and Samuel Ariyibi) who are undecided.
Next season, Washington adds four-star prospect Wesley Yates III and Seattle Prep standout Christian King, who made a verbal commitment to UW and will likely sign with the Huskies in April.